Time for a King for Georgia?

Amid ongoing controversy about the Georgian government democratization methods, the leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church has proposed the idea of establishing a constitutional monarchy as a guarantee of stability.

In a televised October 7 sermon, Patriarch Ilia II argued that a monarch would best protect the interests of citizens of Georgia. Citing Spain as an example, the patriarch said that the constitutional monarchies of the West act as safeguards of stability and national unity. "The king will reign, not rule," he said.

The patriarch's proposal was quickly embraced by many of Georgia's main opposition parties, as well as by media magnate Badri Patarkatsishvili, who has announced potential political plans of his own. The proposal neatly dovetailed with the opposition's new slogan "Georgia without a President," a takeoff on President Mikheil Saakashvili's Rose Revolution motto "Georgia without Shevardnadze." The slogan is intended as a call for a parliamentary system of government.

"Speaking for most opposition parties, I believe